In 1979, my mother joined RGPS as a primary one student. It was located at Holland
Grove Road then. It was a small school with only two buildings connected to each other. The
two buildings were hexagonal. And in each building, there were four classes per level for
each session. There were both am and pm sessions for primary one to primary six. The
students alternate their am and pm sessions yearly. My mother attended the pm session
when she was primary one, so she attended the am session when she was in primary two.
There was only one air-con room in the whole school and it was used as the audiovisual room. My mother said that she only get to use that room once in a while.
The canteen and the assembly area were built together. Whenever it doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t rain,
the assembly is conducted in the car park. There were about eight stalls selling drinks and
food. There were two drink stalls, one noodle stall, one rice stall, one Malay food stall, one
snack stall and one small kachang puteh stall. At that time, a bowl of noodle costs twenty
cents a glass of soft-drink costs five cents.
There was a small aviary, and the students can bring left-over food to feed the birds.
There was also a rabbit hutch. There were cca groups formed to take care of these animals.
My mother joined table tennis as her cca. They would use the assembly area to play
table tennis. There was also a huge field between RGPS and Henry Park Primary School.
Although the students were told not to cross the field, the girls often deliberately run one
big round across Henry Park Primary Schoolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s field. The most memorable event is the sports
day, where there is no class. The school would be decorated with banners and balloons. The
students were given paper coupons to exchange for drinks like milo and ice lemon tea. Gold
medals were also awarded to the sports winners.
(318 words)
Heidi Ng
P3A
12 May 2012

The name of my interviewee is Ms Pauline Yeh. She studied in Holland Grove
Campus.
The students had to walk up a slope and pass by Henry Park Primary School on
their way to school. Her CCA was Badminton and she was in the school team. Ms
Yeh had four A stars and qualified into RGS. Her favourite subject was Chinese.
During her time, there were two principals, the first one was Mrs SW Chee and the
second one was Mrs Carmee Lim. They had a tuckshop which sold many types of
food such as yellow noodles for only thirty cents. The drinks were grass jelly, soft
drinks and many more which were only sold for ten cents. Ms Yeh’s favourite food
was fish cakes with chilli sauce.
Ms Yeh’s classrooms were about the same size as now. The square tables were
made of wood and there was a storage space beneath the tables for the students
to put their books or stationery inside. Instead of whiteboards and markers, the
teachers used blackboards and chalks. There were no projectors, visualizers and
air-conditioning that time. Ms Yeh’s teacher was a fierce disciplinary mistress.
They had all the subjects like English, Math, Chinese, Science, Health Education
and PE, however they did not have Social Studies then.
During their free time, they would be playing five-stones or ‘yeh-yeh’ (a game
using rubber-bands tied together).

Done By: Raeann Chia Ting Xuan(7)P3A

My mother was an old girl of RGPS. Her school was located at
Holland Grove Road. In those days, RGPS girls wore a metal
school badge on their pinafore instead of our fabric ones. They
also used to wear high socks. My motherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s favourite teacher
was Mrs Loo who was her form teacher in Primary 6. During
recess, she liked to play hopscotch, four stones, zero point,
chatek and catching with her friends. She told me that a bowl of
noodles sold at the canteen cost only 20 cents then. Every day
after recess, she and her classmates had to line up along the
drains to brush their teeth before heading back to class. I think
RGPS is a very special school and I am proud to be a RGPS girl.

Done by: ELICIA NG HUI TINGâ&#x2DC;ş
Class: 3A
131 WORDS

The RGPS Story
Interviewer:

Gwen Yeo (P3A)

Interviewee:

Yasmin d/o Mohamed Akrum

Annual Sports Day

RGPS at Queen Street

Aunty Yasmin was a student of RGPS from 1977-1982. She studied in two
campuses, Queen Street (1977 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 1978) and Holland Grove (1979 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 1982). Her
most significant memory at RGPS was the Annual Sports Day. She was proud to
represent Green House. She also took part in the running event. She said that
they did not run round the tracks but just to and fro across the field which is
roughly about 20-30 metres.
She was also glad that the canteen sold ice cream at that time as that was her
favourite food during recess. She also shared that she was lost on her first day of
school at the Queen Street campus. As there were limited direction signages, it
was difficult for her to navigate her way. She was very scared that she would miss
the school bus and would not be able to go home.
She also remembered having a wonderful time with her best friend, Low Wai Pek
before class and during recess. She still misses her old school very much and still
keeps in contact with some of her friends.

My classmateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mother, Mrs. Armstrong,
attended Raffles Girlsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Primary School from
1974 to 1979. She studied at Queen Street
Campus from 1974 to 1978, but the school was
relocated to Holland Grove in 1979.
Her CCA was Gymnastics. She won
countless trophies and medals. She loved Sports
Day and her favourite subject was English. She
said that the Holland Grove Campus is actually
half of the current Henry Park Primary School!

Done By: Elena Chan Jeng Yan 3A (10)
12 May 2012

THE R.G.P.S. STORY
Nabonita Sen P3A

Raffles Girls Primary School has a long history. So Let me share a little
bit about those good old times as seen from the eyes of one of our
alumni.
I had the opportunity to interview a R.G.P.S. alumni, Yasmin, and she
told me a little about her experiences at school. She was in R.G.P.S.
from 1976-1981. The campuses then were at Holland Grove and Queen
Street. The classrooms were shaped like hexagons in those days.
During her time the normal uniform was a blouse, a pinafore, a belt with
a hook and a metal badge but the P.E. uniform was a T-shirt and a pair
of bloomers.
Her favorite subject was Science and her hardest subject was Malay.
Her favorite place in the school was a big field shared with Henry Park,
where she enjoyed playing with her friends.
Her most memorable day was the sports day and her favorite sport was
gymnastics. Her worst memory was going to the dentist. Everything in
the canteen used to be priced less than fifty cents. Her favorite food in
the canteen was Mee Siam.
While she recalled having many favorite teachers, her toughest and
strictest teacher was Ms.Chan in primary three. Her best friend was Wai
Pek.
The one advantage of the school, which still holds, was that it was a
girl's school and she consequently had many girly friends.
While the school premises may have changed and nothing is available
in the canteen for less than fifty cents, on the whole, life at school
doesn't seem to have changed much.

My mother’s friend Ms. Angel was a pupil of the RGPS Holland Grove campus from
1994-2000.She recalled that as a primary 1 student she had to get up very early in the
morning, just like me to go to school.
Ms. Bandara was the principal during Ms. Angel’s school years. Her favourite
subjects were English and Art ,but she still remembers Mrs Tan her Math teacher
who was patient and kind. She also used to look forward to her PE classes as she was
quite fond of playing netball. The Mass Dance conducted during the annual sports
day was also lots of fun.
Ms. Angel and I share similar interests for games played during recess break. We
both like playing five stones, heart attack and skipping with our friends ! Her special
memories of school included her favourite food ,the prawn noodle soup and her
daily visits to the aviary to see the parrots .
Her most memorable experience was about the fund raising bazaar that her class had
organised . She described in detail about the ice cream floats that she had made
which were sold within an hour.
She recalls that school days were fun and that till today she cherishes her friendship
with her classmates who she still keeps in touch.

The RGPS Story –
A Time to Remember …..

Done by:
Pow Shu Qi (27) and
Cassidy.H.Wong (5)
Class 3B

Aunt Camlyn was a former student of Raffles Girls’ Primary School [RGPS] from
1979.

The school campus was located at Holland Grove at that time.

She

remembered that her classroom was shaped like a hexagon, not like the square
ones we have today.
Aunt Camlyn’s favourite teacher was Mrs Lee. Aunt Camlyn used to sing with the
school’s choir and play basketball as her CCAs, which was known as ECAs in the
past. The girls played with beanbags, hula-hoops and balls during their PE lessons.
Their favourite games during recess time were ‘Zero Point’ and ‘Four Stones’.
Aunt Camlyn loved to eat fishball noodles that were sold in the canteen.
Aunt Camlyn also remembered the enjoyable time she had when she went to the
Singapore Botanic Gardens in Primary 1, the Singapore Zoo in Primary 2 and
Sentosa in Primary 6, on school excursions.
Aunt Camlyn had always loved to go to school because she looked forward to
playing with her friends every day.

Photo Credit: RGPS (2012)

After the interview with Aunt Camlyn, my friends and I have a better
understanding of what RGPS was like in the 70’s. Thank you Aunt Camlyn!
Done by:
Pow Shu Qi (27) and Cassidy.H.Wong (5)
Class 3B

By: Natasha Sanghar (25)
P.3B

This is the story of Raffles Girls’ Primary School in the olden days
as told by Auntie Camlyn who was a former student of the famous
school.
Auntie Camlyn started her primary school education in 1979. At that
time, Raffles Girls’ Primary School was located at Holland Grove
Road. Back then, the school was half the size of what it is now. The
other half of the school was occupied by Henry Park Primary School
.The school operated in two sessions, school 1 and school 2. The
morning session will start at 7.30 in the morning while the afternoon
session will start at 1 o’clock in the afternoon. Students attended
each session alternately each year. There were about 40 teachers
teaching at RGPS then. The principal of Raffles Girls’ Primary School
at that time was Mrs. S.N Lim.
Auntie Camlyn remembered there were about 44-47 pupils in her
class when she was in primary 1. Her classroom was in a shape of a
hexagon. There were 4 classes in each level. Her favourite teacher
was Mrs. Kee. Mrs. Kee was her form teacher. Auntie Camlyn was in
the yellow house. Auntie Camlyn favourite subject at that time was
Mathematics. Those days Science was taught at primary one. Now we
only begin to learn Science at primary 3. Physical education is always
fun. According to Auntie Camlyn, she had 2 periods of physical
education each week. During Physical education, they would play
games using bean bags, hula-hoops and rubber balls. Auntie Camlyn
enjoyed playing games like ‘five stones’ and ‘zero point’ during recess.
Recess time then lasted for 20 minutes which is about the same as
our recess time now. Her favourite food from the canteen was
fishball noodles. Her favourite hang out place in school was the
monkey bar.
Her uniform was more or less the same as ours, but her badge was
not. Her badge was pointed at the end of each tip. The reason they
changed the badge was because a lot of students and parents
complained that the pin was sharp and kept on poking the students

when they were putting their badges on. In those days, they did not
have any leadership titles apart from school prefects.
They didn’t have a lot of facilities then. They did not have lockers, a
pancake room, a basketball court, to name some. They also did not
have a dental clinic but they did have a dental nurse. They had
something which we do not have though, which is a Sports Day.
Sports Day is when students compete in various races, mainly track
and field events. School holidays then were basically the same as it
is now.
13 years ago, extra after school activities was not called CCA. It
was known then as ECA, which stands for extra-curricular activities.
Most ECA were held on Saturdays then. Now most CCA are held
after school hours on school days from Monday through Friday.
RGPS organized several excursions during Auntie Camlyn’s six years
at the school. When Auntie Camlyn was primary 1, she went on a
school trip to Botanic Gardens. When she was primary 2, she went to
the Zoo. When she was primary 6, she went on a school outing to the
island of Sentosa. I guess some things don’t change because now we
still go on school outings.

THE RGPS STORY
Prepared By : Fiona Ee
Class: Primary 3B
Year: 2012

Interviewer:
Interviewee:

Deeksha Kapoor
Ms. Camlyn (RGPS Holland Grove Campus: 1979-1984)

My classmate’s mother, Aunty Camlyn, was a pupil of the RGPS Holland Grove
Campus from 1979 to 1984. The building looked like a honeycomb. The classrooms
had shapes like a hexagon and she said that the Teachers desk was nestled by the
pupils’ desks. Aunty Camlyn and her friends used to play games such as zero point,
Four stones and they played with bean bags, hula-loops and balls during their P.E.
lessons and the school field was shared between Henry Park Primary School and
Raffles Girls Primary School.
During those years the school used to start at 7.40am and end at 12.50pm and they
used to have ECA, not CCA, Aunty Camlyn’s ECA were Basketball and Choir. Her
P3 Form teacher was Mrs. Kee, she is over 70 years+ now and she told us that the
pupils in P5 and P6 studied very hard and that Enid Blyton was famous and
favourite amongst the girls in the school.
Aunty Camlyn very lovingly described her years in RGPS as the most memorable
ones and she is still in touch with some of her friends from school. The big red
bridge called the “RAFFLES Bridge of Love” remains fresh in her memory to date.

My neighbour, Tay Kwang Geok, was from a pupil from RGPS from 1978 to 1983.
She spent a year in the Queen Street Campus before moving over to Holland
Grove in Primary Two. There was a National Day Celebration concert which she
was involved in when she was in Primary Five. The class wrote the story
themselves and it was entitled “Coalblack and the Three Giants”. The storyline
was adopted from “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”, just that the characters are
opposite. The girls in the class wrote the story and choreographed the performance
themselves. The performance was a huge success. It was a very interesting and
rewarding experience for the whole class.

THE RGPS STORY
Interviewer: Ang Jo Wee (Class 3C, Index number 3)
Interviewee: Mok Sin Mun (RGPS student 1977-1982)
My mom was a former RGPS student at Queen Street campus
between 1977 and 1979. She then studied in the Holland
Grove campus from 1980 to 1982 for Primary 3 through 6.
Her favourite subject was Chinese.
Dance was her CCA. Her favourite teacher was Mrs Buay, the
form teacher of Primary 1D in 1977 who helped her a lot in
her English, sometimes explained to my mom in Cantonese
so that she could understand. She also remembers 贺老师
as her Chinese teacher, Table-tennis CCA teacher-in-charge
and who brought her class to climb the Bukit Timah Hill.
She loved the canteen and said the food sold there was very
tasty. They sold fish ball and fish cake noodles, laksa and
kacang puteh in the canteen. She still misses her old primary
school a lot.
Kacang Puteh
uncle’s store

20 cents a glass of
mixed soft drinks

Her favourite noodle
shop

My aunties, mom’s 2 elder sisters were amongst the
audience. Canteen was behind the hall. There was an
outdoor cage with small animals like rabbits, chicks
and birds next to the canteen.

Mom said RGPS school
badge was metallic then
that she would pin on after
wash. She had no name tag
like the one I have today.
She was from Green House
and won many medals
from Sports Days.

My teacher, Mrs Wong, was a pupil of the RGPS Queen Street Campus from
1964 to 1972. Her most memorable experience was when they heard somebody
said that there was a bomb in the school. For the safety of the teachers and
students of the school, they were told to evacuate and assembled at the SJI field.
Mrs Wong felt terrified and worried. They waited for a long time but nothing
serious happened. After a thorough search in the school, it was announced that it
was only a hoax. Mrs Wong felt relieved but she was angry of being fooled by the
person who told them there was a bomb in the school.

THE RGPS STORY A Time to Remember

Social Studies- Oral History MiniProject

Interviewer :

Marilyn Goh (3C)

Interviewee :

Eileen Fong

By:
Name: Aslesha Williams Nair
Class: Pri 3C
Index no: 4

(RGPS Holland Grove Campus 1982 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 1987)

My mother, Eileen Fong was a pupil of RGPS Holland Grove Campus from 1982 â&#x20AC;&#x201C;
1987.
She vividly remembers that there was an area that used to rear small animals,
such as hamsters, rabbits and guinea-pigs.
She always goes there whenever she was free.
Usually, she goes there during her recess time. She helps to feed the small
animals and tidy up the place.
She told me whenever she is feeling moody she cuddles the guinea-pigs before
she goes home.
Until now, she still remembers the joyous time with the small animals.

The RGPS Story
Cherisse Goldwich and Carmen Tong(7)&(6)

Submitted to: Mrs Happy Wong
7/4/2012

Cherisse Goldwich & Carmen Tong

(7)&(6) 3c

The RGPS Story
Raffles Girls’ School was established on the 4th of March 1844
with six boarders and five scholars. It first functioned as a moral
development and vocational training class but later progressed
to become an educational institution. The trustees of Raffles
Institution sited Raffles Girls’ School at the centre of the
building at Bras Basah Road. However the two schools were
separated in 1847 and by 1881, the new Girls’ School started
classes on its own.
In 1928, Raffles Girls' School moved to Queen Street but
vacated the premises during the Japanese Occupation. The
building was then occupied by the Kempeitai as its
headquarters during the war years. After liberation in 1945, the
school was re-opened and temporarily housed in St Anthony’s
Convent before reoccupying its own building again along
Queen Street in 1946.
Primary classes were started in the afternoon and there were
only nine classes then with Mrs Ambiviagar as Principal. By
1959, Raffles Girls’ Primary School became a full-fledged
primary school in its own right when Raffles Girls' Secondary
moved to its new building in Anderson Road. As the sole
occupant of the Queen Street campus, morning classes were
started with Mrs V Pestana as the Principal of the school.
According to our interviewee, Auntie Rebecca, the school at
that time was very strict but in the canteen, they sold delicious
kachang puteh, which would put a smile on all of the students’
faces.
Auntie Rebecca had also told us that on the night before
balloting day, parents’ would start to line up outside the school
at about 8:00p.m. and set up a tent to sleep in at night just so
they could be one of the first people to get a number for the
balloting session the next day.

Parents of children who had gotten into the school would be so
happy and maybe even cry tears of joy! Unfortunately, some
parents and their children would have to be disappointed, for as
the saying goes “You can’t please everybody!’’
Auntie Rebecca’s favourite teacher was Mrs Nathan. She found
Mrs Nathan the most favourable and outstanding teacher as
she was kind, humble, dedicated, patient and devoted to her
job as a teacher.
Auntie Rebecca was over the moon when she had gotten a
perfect A star for her mathematics PSLE (primary school
leaving examination) under the guidance of Mrs Nathan.
Before she left, I, Cherisse, asked her the best and last
question: why her parents chose Raffles Girls’ primary as her
school. She simply replied “My parents chose it because it was
close to my house and was a very good school to go to.’’
Finally, it was time to go, we said our good-byes as she left the
classroom.
We hope that RGPS will strive to become an even better school
someday.
Acknowlegements
We would like to thank our social studies teacher, Mrs Wong & our form
teacher Mdm Wong for helping us to finish our project.

My mother, Rebecca Foo, was a pupil of both the RGPS Queen
Street and Holland Grove campuses from 1977 to 1982. She has
many fond memories of RGPS. The most memorable event for her
was the big move from the Queen Street campus to the Holland
Grove Road campus.
My mother was a member of the RGPS Band. This is a picture of
her and the other band members in their band uniform. My
mother played a brass instrument called, cornet. She is standing
in the middle row, 5th person from the right.

Background
Mrs Wang spent her RGPS years at the Holland Grove campus. The
year 1979 was the first year that the school was relocated from the
Queen Street campus. The Principal then was Mrs Lim Soo Noi.

Those Wonderful Days
The School Compound
There was a grand staircase near the staff room which only the
Principal and teachers were granted access.
There was also a huge cage near the school canteen where birds and
rabbits were kept.
Recess Time
The girls enjoyed the lime and orange ice-bar at just five cents. They
played games such as five stones, shuttlecock with colourful feathers
and “zero-point”.
After recess, the girls squatted by the drain to brush their teeth using a
coloured mug and toothbrush provided by the school.

The Dentist’s Call

Whenever the school dentist appeared at the classroom, the girls were
jittery. Everyone prayed that her name would not be called to go to
the dental clinic which was located on the ground floor. The drilling
sound of those tools used to clean the teeth was scary.
The Presidentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Visit
In 1982, the then President Devannair visited the school. They were
so honoured to welcome the President and they showcased their art
projects during his visit to their class in 4A.
Conclusion
The remembrance of those years at RGPS brings back many fond
memories. Mrs Wang is proud that her daughter, Shania is now part
of the RGPS family.

Everyday, Auntie Patricia had to put on her metal badge to school. Unlike us, we have our
badges sewed to our uniforms.
At her time, RGPS’s hall and canteen were in the same area. They also had to share their field
and school buses with Henry Park Primary School. She and her friends did not dare to make
friends with the boys, so they befriended the girls only.
Everyday after recess, there would be a brushing teeth session. All of them had to line up
horizontally at the drain. A staff would press a button and all the pupils could hear the speaker
saying, "Up, 12345678..Down, 12345678..RIGHT… Up, 12345678..Down, 123455678..LEFT… Up,
12345678..Down, 12345678..”and so on. But sometimes when they forgot to bring their
toothbrushes and cups for rinsing their mouths, they would go to the bookshop to buy it. Then
the owner of the bookshop would have lots of business.
In the middle of the school, there is a bridge called `The Bridge of Love’. You can cross the fish
pond. It is also helps to connect one end of a building to another. Near the pond, there would
be an aviary. Inside, there would be lots of birds and a few hutches. In each hutch would be a
rabbit. Everyday, they would bring some vegetables to feed the rabbits.
During Auntie Patricia’s time, some people would sell ice cream. Some would also sell Kacang
Putih. The food in RGPS was very cheap in the past.
Auntie Patricia and her friends read Enid Blyton books, so they formed a group and pretended
to be detectives. She liked the place where they always meet her friends the most. And at her
time, there were no lifts. So the teachers must have gone through a lot of hardship. In the
playgroud, there was also a monkey bar. They did not have pupil’s card too.

My mother was an old girl of Raffles Girl Primary School.
She studied for one year (Primary 1) at Queens Street and five years
(Primary 2 to 6) at Mount Sinai.
At Queen Street, my mother remembers that the school was in the city and
the building was really old and at parts creepy.
At Mount Sinai, she was lucky to be the first batch of students to be at the
brand new school. However, the Mount Sinai school shared the field with
another school (Henry Park Primary School).
Now, RPGS is located at Bukit Timah in a private housing estate and has
its own compound without sharing with any other schools.
Back then, students could order milk in either Vanilla, Strawberry or
Chocolate flavor for consumption during recess. The milk came in
triangular shaped packaging which we do not see anymore.
There was an ice-cream stall which was operated by a Hainainese woman
in the canteen. Now we do not have an ice-cream stall at all. It would be
nice to have one.
There were many parents and grandparents in the canteen during recess
as they would come early, buy food and wait for their children and grandchildren. Now they are not allowed to come during recess. All the students
have to buy their own food.
During recess, my mother played zero-point, five stones, skipping rope and
hop scotch with her classmates. Now, we play at the playground, “Tag”,
“Ice and Freeze” or “Mushroom”.

A RGPS Story
We are Althea Tan and Helen Goh from 3E. And we are going to tell you about a RGPS Story.
Althea’s mother was once in RGPS, and she shared the following
bits of story with us… During her time, recess in RGPS was only 20 minutes.
Althea’s mother would eat a snack with her best friend, Richelle, before
joining the other friends in the field. RGPS canteen used to sell this
‘keropok’ the size of an A4 paper and it cost only ten cents (ermm… but
ten cents was a lot of money to a young girl then)! There was also this
lollipop with a nice tasting sarsi-flavor. Alas, we do not have such a flavor
here anymore (sigh). Both the keropok and sarsi lollipop were very popular with the girls. But few could
barely finish their lollipops when the bell went off though….
After their meals, they would go to this humongous Banja tree, which had very long banja
roots hanging from the branches. Many girls loved to hold onto the sturdy roots and swing about in a
tarzan-style! One can imagine the rowdy fun they all had… Within a stone’s throw away was a huge
rubber tree in the garden. They could find many rubber seeds on the grass. They tried picking them up
and playing ‘five- stones’ with them….

If there was still time, many of the RGPS girls would go to the pretty
garden which was filled with white, pretty frangipani flowers, near the
cleaners’ quarter. Everybody simply loved the sweet aroma of the frangipani flowers floating in the
air. However, the girls found the cleaners’ quarters eerie as many spooky stories on it had been told …
And, we also got to hear about a really funny story about RGPS. Once, when a school prankster
put glue on the toilet bowl seat and when a girl unknowingly sat on it, the whole toilet bowl seat got
stuck onto her pinafore! The poor girl had to remove her entire pinafore to free herself. Luckily for her,
she was wearing her PE attire underneath. Someone in the toilet saw what had happened and spread
this piece of news to the rest in school.
The girl then became an instant ‘star’ as she immediately became a laughing stock in school.
Anyhow, the prankster was being severely punished.
Well, we hope that you have enjoyed the “RGPS Story”.
THE END
By: Althea Tan Sze Rui (3) and Helen Goh Yi Kang (18)

By: Jamie Liew (17) & Gretel Cheng (5)
Date: 10th May 2012

Class: 3F

These are the memories of an alumni whose name is Jan. She was a former pupil of
Raffles Girls’ Primary School.
Raffles Girls’ Primary School was located at Holland Grove Campus. It was next to
Henry Park Primary School. In between the two schools, there was an enormous field.
Raffles Girls’ Primary School and Henry Park Primary School shared the field. There was an
imaginary boundary line that split it into two. We would take half of the field and the other
school would take the other half.
Whenever one of the Henry Park boys came into our side of the field, Jan and her
friends would keep on chasing him until he returned to the other side of the imaginary
boundary line. They also had rubbish day! During rubbish day, they would have to pick up
litter and they would only pick up the litter until the boundary line.
During Sports Meet, now
called Games Carnival, games were
played in the field then. There were
fun games like baton, exchanging
beanbags and sack races. Now we
play it in the school building and in
the parade square! “It was so fun then!” she said. “Whenever we fell, we would fall on the
soft green grass and it won’t hurt.” Jan had won two medals and a trophy! She was in green
house and her house cheer was like this “Green, green, always win.” The green house liked to
make fun of the yellow house by saying their cheer “Yellow, yellow, dirty fellow”.
The canteen and the hall were next to each other on the ground floor. Many stalls
were facing the tables and chairs where the students ate their food. On each side of the hall,
there were very shallow drains. Sometimes, after recess they would have to squat by the
drains with mugs and toothbrushes and brush their teeth. On very special occasions, their

teachers would give them each a very bright pink tablet to chew before brushing their teeth. If
the very bright pink colour showed on their teeth, it showed the places where they had dental
plaque. During recess, Jan and her friends would either play zero point or five stones. She
preferred using green beans instead of rice for making the five stones as it was easier to catch.

Jan went to the library on some days with her
best friend, Ruth. The librarian would take her library
card, write the due date on a card from the book she
wanted to borrow, and slot it into her library card and
keep it. Afterwards when Jan had returned the book,
the librarian would take out her library card, put the borrowing card back inside the front of
the book, give Jan back her library card and put back the book. The library card was paper
then but it is all electronic now.

Janâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s memories of her RGPS days are different from ours. Someday, we too hope to
be able to tell our own daughters about our memories of RGPS.

Name: Adriana Kamsadi
Index No.: 26
Class: 3G
Assignment: RGPS Story

This year there were two ladies who were from my school, Jemma
and Alice, who came to my class to talk about the RGPS story. Now, I would
like to start out with Jemma’s story.
Jemma went to RGPS in the year 1975. Her principal was Mrs
Lim. When she went to RGPS, the school was located at Queen Street.
However, the school moved to Holland Grove when she was Primary 5.
Gemma’s favourite subject was Science. Jemma also said that among all
the food sold in the canteen, her favourite food would be the Prawn
Noodles. She added that compared to how much a bowl of noodles would
cost in school during her time, the price of a bowl of noodles is now very
expensive. She said that our school was very different compared to how our
school is today.
I would now like to share Alice’s story.
Alice went to RGPS in the year 1981. Her principal was also Mrs
Lim. When she went to RGPS the school was located at Holland Grove.
Alice said her English teacher, Mdm Hoon, was very strict. During recess
almost everyday, Alice would eat her favourite Chi Chong Fun. She said
that when she was studying at RGPS, the bookshop was the same size as
the classrooms, which was not really different comparing our school today
and in the past. She also said that her favourite place in school was the
monkey bar area in the playground because it made her feel like she was a
monkey.
In the end of it all, Alica and Jemma’s session had come to an
end. Now, because of this, I would like to have my own RGPS story session
with the pupils who would go to RGPS in the future.
Thank You.

Christy Choe Tzin (8) 3G
The RGPS Story â&#x20AC;&#x201C; A Time to Remember
During NE Friday, I had the privilege to
interview Ms Gemma. She studied in RGPS
Queen Street and graduated in 1980. As the
school was used as a hospital during the
Japanese Occupation, she had thought that
it was haunted!

Ms Gemma shared with me that her
favourite subject was Science as she liked
the hands-on lessons and especially if she
could touch the animals. During her Primary
5 school year, she recalled that there were
chicks in the school compound and they
were running around! However, the chicks
always left their droppings around.
Unsurprsingly, her favourite teacher was her
Science teacher, Ms Ching. She remembers
Ms Ching as being very soft-spoken and Ms
Gemma always obtained full marks for her
Science tests.
PE lessons were held in the school hall and
it was smaller than ours at Hillcrest campus.
The students wore school blouse and
bloomers for
PE lessons
then.

For students who were underweight, they
had to drink soy milk in school on a daily
basis. Ms Gemma found the taste
disgusting.
Food was another highlight in Ms Gemmaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s
school life in RGPS. She enjoyed the spring
rolls and one Chinese cracker cost 5 cents
back then. Ms Gemma would sometimes
have home-made jam sandwiches for her
recess.
After recess, the students will have to brush
their teeth. The school provided each pupil
with a toothbrush and mug and they will
have to squat at the drain to brush their
teeth. The teacher would observe if they are
brushing their teeth correctly.

I enjoyed interviewing Ms Gemma and
finding out about her school life in RGPS
then. It makes me proud to know that my
school has a rich history and heritage and I
am fortunate to be part of our RGPS family.

Christy Choe Tzin (8) 3G
The RGPS Story – A Time to Remember
During NE Friday, I was excited to meet Ms Alice, one of my two
interviewees. She graduated from RGPS in 1986 and studied at the
Holland Grove campus. The principal then was Mrs Lim Soo Noi.

Ms Alice’s favourite subject was Mathematics.

She recalls that she had a teacher. Mdm Hoon, who would check their nails
every Monday, to make sure they were cut and clean.

Alice went on excursion to the Botanic Gardens.

Her favourite corner in school was the monkey bar in the field. The bars
were placed at 3 heights – short, medium and tallest.

She loved to go to the bookshop. It was huge as it was the size of our
classroom. She remembers that it had lots of shelves.

Ms Alice’s favourite food in school is “Chee Chong Fun” sprinkled with
sesame seeds. Recess time was only 10 minutes and she had to rush to
finish her food in time.

Interviewer: Shreya Raman (3G)
Interviewee: Ms Manjula Govindaraju

Aunty Manju is seated in the 1st row, 2nd from the right.
My former Sunday Human Values class teacher, Aunty Manju, was a former pupil
of RGPS from 1966 to 1971. RGPS was then located at Queens Street. The uniform
was the same as it is today except for the school badge. It was a metal pin on
badge that the pupils needed to remember to put on every day. The school hours
were similar with morning session being from 7.30am to 12.30pm and the
afternoon session being from 1.30pm to 6.30pm. Aunty Manju used to play tag
and hopscotch at the playground or the school field every day before the school
bell rang. The subjects were the same as they are today. They were English, Math,
Science and Mother Tongue. Food at the canteen only cost between 5 and
20cents. There were stalls selling drinks, sweets, noodles, halal food and
sandwiches. Aunty Manjuâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s favourite food was fishball noodles which cost 10c.
There was a basketball court, a huge school field and a bookshop. There was
sports day every year. Aunty Manju played netball as her ECA activity.

•
•

Interviewer
Interviewee

Koo ii (3G)
Ying (Holland Grove Campus 1979-1984)

This particular RGPS story began in 1979 which was the first year that the school had
Holland Grove Road to its address.
This girl bought her uniform and textbooks at the Queen Street Campus. She
remembered seeing those ancient wooden chairs and tables but she was very
happy to see brand new dark greyish-blue tables and chairs when school started in
1979.
There were two sessions - four classes in “school 1” (1st session) and four
classes in “school 2” (2nd session).
The classes were labelled as A, B, C and D. Unlike now, “A class” was the best
back then. This girl was posted to class 1C and was promoted to the “A class” from P2
to P6. There were as many as forty-five pupils in a class in those days.
The most memorable moment was when she planted an onion in the school
garden, together with the Principal, Mrs Lim. This garden was next to the hall and
flanked by drains that all students brushed their teeth with the “Clean Teeth Never
Decay” colourful mugs.
This moment was captured in a picture published in the 50th anniversary RGPS
magazine. Only her back view was shown, she said it was because they wanted to
take the Principal and her classmate who was the daughter of a Minister.
School was very fun. Her P3A form teacher, Mrs Lim (not the Principal), allowed
them to play any games in the class as long as they had finished their work. This girl
was always the first few pupils to finish their work with no corrections.
She played ‘Zero-point’, ‘Four Stones’, ‘Chatek’ and many other games. Yes, it
was utterly true, they played ‘IN THE CLASS’ everyday!

Her favourite corner,
was the big orange public telephone booth next to
the tuckshop. She always called my grandmother during her recess. The queue was
forever long. She missed the Kachang Puteh man as well.
A funny moment to share, queer moments began early in the morning. As
RGPS was next to Henry Park Primary School, they often ‘compete’ to see who was
the first to begin the morning assembly. A man’s voice boomed across the shared
field, he said the pledge very badly. All the girls giggled.

Those were my mother’s days…..

RGPS Story
Interviewee : Jacqueline Ng (2005)
It was with a slight pang of nostalgia that she recollected her primary school years
in RGPS. She especially remembered the teachers, friends and the seemingly endless
lessons but found it hard to begin as she had an uncountable number of precious
memories.
When she was in Primary 3 in 2002, pottery lessons, a compulsory activity that all
girls had to attend, gave her a chance to shine and learn. It was in the pottery room on
the 2nd floor of the school where she and her friends would compete to see whose
artwork would earn the highest accolade from her teacher and where they would
playfully and discreetly throw bits of clay at each other before bursting into fits of giggles.
During those lessons, she was taught to persevere, as there were several occasions
where her clay broke under fire in the kiln. As disappointed as she was, the elderly
pottery teacher always made it a point to kindly commend her on how beautiful the final
piece would have been had it not cracked, and this would be the impetus for her to
bravely start all over again at the next lesson.
She also remembered the numerous teachers who hold a special place in her
heart. It was a place where teachers such as Mrs Toh Mee Lin, her Primary 1 teacher
taught by example and a place where students were constantly put under some
pressure in the hope that they would eventually come out stronger and better, very much
like the ceramic pieces she had created in Primary 3 that now sit proudly on the
mantelpiece at her home.
It would not matter if she sometimes did badly for school tests, for there would
always be teachers and friends around to motivate and correct her. She knew she need
not be afraid of aiming high or even of failure as her teachers often taught her to keep
her feet on the ground even as she strived towards her lofty ambitions, and her teachers
would always catch her when she fell.
This was a school that had built a solid foundation in her to withstand the
pressures of later years. The foundation would put her in good stead for secondary
school life.
This was a school where farewells were never unsullied, where she forged some
of the strongest childhood friendships. Many of these friendships are still going strong.
Now, as she recollected her primary school years, she summed it up with this
statement: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Thank God I found you, RGPS!â&#x20AC;?
Name : Esther Ong Wei Shi (27)

Class : 3G

RGPS STORY

Interviewer: Stephanie Tan Kai Lin (3G)
Interviewee: Lum Weng Jing

My Mummy was a pupil of the RGPS Holland Grove campus from 1981 to 1986. One of
her favourite memories at RGPS was recess time. She loved the food served at the canteen
including prawn noodles, fishball and fishcake served in a small packet, laksa and snacks such as
Kacang Puteh, Starwars Popsicle and Kaka (a type of crunchy corn snack with a toy inside).
Recess time was also full of fun with games such as Zero-Point, Dog-and-Bone and
Chaptek. There was also a period when children loved to collect cute paper and stickers.
During recess, children from different classes were seen gathering together to exchange cute
paper with each other. My Mummy had a very big collection of cute paper which was
subsequently given away to a neighbor.
My Mummy also enjoyed Sports Day very much. She was a very fast runner and her
class won a prize every year. She remembered receiving a very nice child umbrella as a prize for
one year.
Finally, my Mummy recalled that the post exam periods were the best as the children
were allowed to bring toys or even pets, such as hamsters, to school to play. They could also go
to a room where movies were screened via a television set. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Sound of Musicâ&#x20AC;? was one of
the movies shown every year.
My Mummy had very fond memories of RGPS and hoped that I would enjoy my time in
RGPS too.

THE RGPS STORY – A TIME TO REMEMBER
Social Studies – Oral History Mini-project

Megan studied in RGPS from 2000 to 2005 at the Hillcrest
campus. She was a two-time recipient of the School Advisory
Committee (SAC) Award in 2003 and 2005.
Interview Topic: Community Involvement Project (CIP) in P5.
Interviewer: Madeleine Quah
Class/Year: 3G/2012
Date of Interview: 13 March 2012

Megan was the group leader of a community involvement
project called â&#x20AC;&#x153;Disability Awareness Weekâ&#x20AC;? when she was in P5
[2004]. It was held to raise the awareness of the disabled
among the RGPS student population. Her group helped to raise
fund and put up an exhibition in school to raise awareness of
people affected by cerebral palsy. Although her group raised
about $150 which may seem a small amount, she was very
glad to be given an opportunity to participate in this project and
contribute to society.

THE RGPS STORY
Interviewer: Rachel Puah
Interviewee: Veronica Tan (Queen Street Campus 1977-1978) (Holland Grove Campus 1979-1982)
My mother, Veronica studied at the RGPS Queen Street Campus from 1977 till 1978 as a
primary 1-2 student, and later at the Holland Grove Campus from 1979 until she graduated in
1982.
Though the Queen Street Campus was OLD and EERIE, my mother preferred to study
there. She had a lot of fun playing hide-and-seek in this BIG campus because there were so
many good hideouts. She also loved the MAJESTIC look of the school building. They had
a beautiful, really BIG and GRAND white staircase. It was really WIDE as two classes could
walk up at the SAME TIME. How amazing!
My mother's primary one classroom was located on the first level, RIGHT BESIDE the

GRAND staircase. It was near to the driveway and the backgate too. She remembered their
classroom had two REALLY REALLY HUGE windows without any window grills.
She recalled an incident that happened during one of her lessons. They were ALERTED
about a WILD DOG roaming around the school. They were told not only to SHUT the doors
immediately but all the windows TIGHTLY too to prevent the dog from jumping through the
windows. Some girls were frightened while a few
heard about this incident.

screamed
screamed.

I laughed really HARD when I

Mrs Lim Soo Noi was the principal then. My mother liked and respected her very much
because she was a very CHARISMATIC principal and she maintained a very good
POSTURE when she walked..

Photo Credit : RGPS website
The photo above is the field that can be overlooked from the second floor common
corridor. Beside the field, was what they called the “tuckshop” then, which is our “canteen” now.
After recess everybody would bring the set of toothbrush and mug provided by the school and
squat by the drain to brush their teeth.
What wonderful memories of those good old days!

My mother had the privilege of being a pupil in 2 campuses, Queen Street and
Holland Grove. The principal then was Mrs Lim Soo Noi. She was very excited
when she saw the photos of her principal and some of her ex- teachers in the RGPS
50th Anniversary Alumni Book. That brought back fond memories for her. In the
first few years of her primary school education, my mother’s favourite game during
recess was ‘zero point’. This is a game whereby girls challenge each other on how
high they can jump over a rope, the rope is usually made up of rubber bands strung
together. My mother played this game with her group of friends at the Parade
Square at Queen Street campus.

• My sister Faa'izah was studying in this school from 20042009. There was a big, beautiful pond outside the
corridors known as the ‘Wishing Pond’ among the
students. They would throw coins into the pond , and
wish for something they wanted. Faa'izah likes that place
a lot as she would spend her time there with her friends
fruitfully.

RGPS Story
Done By : Cheryl Tan & Riya Sanjeev
Class: 4B

THE RGPS STORY
“Hi! My name is Tan Yung Yung. Most of my friends called me Judy. I studied in RGPS
from 1976 to 1981. P1 and P2 years were at the RGPS Queen Street campus, and P3 to P6 at
the Holland Grove campus. RGPS was divided into two sessions - School I and School II. Each
session had six levels and each level had four classes (A, B, C, D). I was in School II P1C in the
morning session. Unlike now, there was no GEP and no streaming.
My principal was Mrs Lim Soo Nooi. She was approachable and was very kind to all
of us. Mrs Emilie Tan was my form teacher in P1. She was strict but kind to those who did
their work. My best friends were Wun Wen-na and Karen Kwee. We spent recess together
all the time.
Canteen food cost a lot less than now. A bowl of noodles was only 20¢. My favourite
food was laksa and fish cake. I love the AVA room the most because we watched many
programs in there. Chinese and music lessons were the most enjoyable. I played table tennis
and joined the school choir.
I certainly enjoyed my primary school days in RGPS and I hope you do too!”

Going to school
I usually woke up at 6:00am and took the school bus to school
and reached at about 7:15am. We were expected to reach
school at around 7:30am and I was terrified of being late so I
made sure my mother woke me up on time every morning. As
a result, I was never late for school.
RGPS report book
In the classroom
I was excellent in my studies if I do say so
myself! My favourite teacher was Mrs Gay (see
photo on the left) and was the only teacher I kept
in touch with.
Sadly, she died a
few years ago
from cancer. My best friend was Phyllis from
Taiwan who eventually became vice head prefect!
She was very messy and we called her â&#x20AC;&#x153;Mop Head
â&#x20AC;?. My other best friends were Joyce, Carrie and
Evelyn.

Class photo!

Recess!

My favourite food was prawn noodles! The queue to the prawn noodle stall was
the longest among all the stalls so I would rush down quickly to the canteen. My
favourite area of the school was the field. I would play hopscotch there with my
friends.
Being a leader

The prefect
badge

When I was in primary five, I became a prefect! I was happy and
proud when I received my badge. I looked after the class 2B, which
was a cute but naughty class. Once, the class made too much noise
and the other classes complained. I had to make the class stand up
for ten minutes! The class liked me very much and called me the

RGPS Story
Danna and Linda were former students of RGPS. They remember very fondly of the times they had
when they were students. Both of them remembered that the old school building had only 3 stories
and was much shorter than the RGPS now. The field was 20 times bigger and they would play
pretend games and build bird’s nest. There was no fishpond in the school.
Danna and Linda remembered that there were very old books in the school library and that the
school librarian was old and ugly. Pupils used to think that the scariest place in the school was the
dental clinic. There was also no caning in the school. Instead, students were given another chance
to finish their work and to hand it up the next day. In rare cases, if the student keeps forgetting to
bring her homework, then she would get a very bad scolding from the Teacher. Danna also said that
CCA was not compulsory during her time.
The canteen food in the old RGPS was very cheap. There were lots of stalls and there was a stall that
sold packets of fishcake that were very delicious. Students could also ask for more chilli to make
their food spicy. During that time, the canteen was very clean and there were no birds and pigeons
flying around.
When RGPS moved from Bras Basah to Holland Grove, it was next to Henry Park Primary School.
Linda said that the students from Henry Park Primary School were allowed to go into RGPS but the
RGPS students were not allowed to go into Henry Park. Linda laughed and said that it was so unfair.

Former RGPS at Holland Grove

RGPS Story

RGPS Story
Done by: Jazlyn Low
Class: 4C

Who did I interview?
I interviewed my mother, Mdm Tong Siew Wei, who was a former pupil of RGPS from 1976 to 1985.
Which year did she studied in RGPS?
She started her Primary 1 in RGPS in 1976.
She told me that my grandmother had to queue before dawn on the day of registration so that there is
a higher chance for her to get into the good school.
It also benefited her other 2 sisters, who eventually also studied in RGPS. It was not so lucky for her
fourth or youngest sister who was not able to enroll in the same school as there was a policy then that
only up to the third child can be enrolled in the same school. In the end, her youngest sister ended up in
Stamford Primary School and the fun part was that when you join the names of the 2 schools together,
they will get “Stamford Raffles”, the founder of Singapore.
Where was the school premise when she was studying in RGPS?
She studied at the school at Queen Street for Primary 1 to 3. There were also many other popular
schools nearby Queen Street, for example CHIJ, St Anthony’s Convert, St Joseph Institute, etc.
The school later moved to Holland Grove when she was in Primary 4.
Who were her favourite teachers?
There were a few of the teachers whom had left a deep impression on her.
Firstly was Miss Chan Ai Yoke. She was her Primary 1 form teacher as well as the teacher in-charge for
folk dancing and Red Cross Society. She enjoyed dance class under her and Miss Wong.
Secondly, there was Miss Chan Mei Ling, who was her form teacher for Primary 4. The students were
quite frightened of her as she always gives them mental sums for her Math lessons. However she may
look fierce by appearance but she was really kind teacher.
Thirdly, there was Mdm Peh who taught her Chinese for Primary 3. She used to drive a white “turtle”
car to school.
What was her favourite subject in school?

She enjoyed the music lesson the most as they got to go to the music room at the second level (at the
Queen Street) for lessons. Besides singing while the teacher played the piano, they also learnt to play
the recorder.
Which was her favourite food stall?
Her favourite stall was the noodle stall. She could still remember that the cost of a bowl of noodle then
was only twenty cents. Though the noodle may be plain, with just noodle and a few slices of fish cake,
but it was delicious and was able to fill her stomach for the recess break.
What does she like to play during recess time with your friends?
After taking the food at recess time, she would play catching, five stones and zero point with her friends
and classmates. Sometimes they would also go to see the fishes in the pond at the garden.
Who was her best friend in the school?
Her best friend was Belinda Mak. They were in the same class except for Primary 1. They would go for
recess and play games together. They were also in the same CCA, Red Cross Society. At times, Belindaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s
mum would also prepare lunch for her when they stay back after school for their CCA.
What were her most unforgettable events in RGPS?
There was once when she was queuing to buy food during recess time at Queen Street school. While
she was waiting for her turn, suddenly she felt some ticklish feeling in her body. To her horror, it turned
out that there was a cockroach crawling in her body. She quickly put her hand into the blouse and
scooped it out. Frightened to let anyone know about it, she quickly ran to the toilet and clean herself
up.
Another unforgettable event was the moving of the school from Queen Street to Holland Grove. The
girls were all very excited about the new and big school premise. There was also an opening ceremony
which her second sister performed a dance item.

This is a picture of my mum and her
classmates of Primary 1D (1976) with Miss
Chan Ai Yoke

My mother, Cindy Tong, was a pupil of RGPS Holland Grove campus.
She was in Primary 1 in 1979, it was the first year RGPS began to use this premise at Holland Grove.
She recalled that all things were new and clean within the school compound during then.
At that time, Henry Park Primary School was just next to RGPS. There was a big field in between the two
schools and RGPS' girls got to share this field with HPPS' students.
There was no clear line indicating the 'territory' of each school. During PE lessons, RGPS girls were always
afraid that they would go beyond their boundary. As a result, sub-consciously they were always very
careful /alert so as not to go too far from their school in case the students (especially the boys) from HPPS
would bully/disturb them . . . By sharing the field, they could see HPPS PE activities, and would start to
make comparisons as well ie. whose game was more interesting, which teacher was better . . .
There seemed to be an 'invisible fence' at the centre of the field.
But eventually, RGPS girls began to make friends with HPPS' students and the two schools became good
neighbours with this big field between them. The field was always filled with laughters and joy.

My mother, Cindy does have quite a number of fond memories throughout her
her six years in RGPS.
Here are some other questions covered during the interview session :
Shermaine : How many best friends do you have during your primany school days ?
Cindy : One is good enough, in fact we were in the same class throughout the 6 years.
Sad to say that we didn't manage to go to the same secondary school.
However, all the while we still keep in touch with one another even till now !

Our friendship is more than 30 years already.
Shermaine : Who was your favorite teacher ?
Cindy : Mrs Gay. She was my English and Maths teacher when I was in P6.
Eventhough she looked fierce and stern, she was a very caring and understanding teacher.
I have got a lot of encouragement from her during the PSLE time. She helped me a lot during then.
Shermaine : What was your favorite food from the canteen ?
Cindy : Yummy Prawn Noodle ! We only got to eat this on every Friday. Students would order and pay
in the morning, the vendor then have all orders prepared and placed them on the canteen tables
just before recess. All bowls of noodles were properly labelled with the students' names written
on a slip of paper . It was quite fun searching for own names in order to get the right order that
we placed earlier. That was really delicious !
Shermaine : Which lesson did you enjoy the most ?
Cindy : Music lesson. Just like you, I enjoy singing and that was the only time where the girls could sing
to their hearts' content . Enjoyed the singing sessions which were always filled with so much fun
and laughters. I believe this has not been changed till now,students are still having great time
during music lessons. It's stress-free, right ?
Shermaine : Did you enjoy your six years stay in RGPS ?
Cindy : Everything was good except the long journey from home to school.
We have got good learning environment, caring teachers and good friends.
Luckily, your grandma was able to register me into RGPS during then, and that's why you are
able to be here as well.

THANK YOU

The RGPS Story

By:
Kimberly Khow 16 March 2012

Written By
Class
Date

:
:
:

Claryne Teng
P4D
19 March 2012

THE RGPS STORY
I never knew times in the early days of Raffles Girls Primary School were so different and basic.
The school was located in Queen Street then. There was a winding staircase and there were also
big beautifully coloured tiles and pillars. Sports Day was also held in the school compound.
The school ground was cemented and there was no playground. The school also had no lifts
and students had to climb the stairs to go to their classrooms. The bookshop back then sold
only basic stationery items like pencils, erasers and exercise books. During those times,
students mainly used cloth pencil cases. If the pencil cases were torn, they would be sewn back.
Food sold in the canteen was fairly cheap. A bowl of noodles cost only 20 cents and a stick of
‘kachang puteh’ cost five cents. Students only had twenty minutes for their recess and there
were about 8-10 stalls in the canteen.
The classrooms only had wooden tables and two fans. The number of students in each class
was big, with a number of around 42-45 students in a class. Teachers used chalks to write on
the blackboards. If students were not paying attention, the chalks would come flying at them!
Subjects taught were similar but there were only a subject teacher and a Chinese teacher. Rules
in the olden days were the same.
The pupils had CCA twice a week and the two popular CCAs were badminton, as well as track
and field. However, there was no CCA bus to transport the students back to school after CCA.
Thus, most students took trishaws or public transport which cost about 5-10 cents a ride.
One of the alumnae my class interviewed has a sister who loved to story-tell and her sister
eventually became a lawyer and a lecturer. The alumna shared that the school attire then was a
shirt and a pair of bloomers. She also shared that her favourite Primary 6 teacher was Mrs
Low, who ironically, was the alumnae’s most feared teacher. However, Mrs Low was a
dedicated and fantastic teacher. And as expected, the alumnae under her performed very well,
scoring very good grades.
THE RGPS STORY (cont’d)
One of the alumnae excelled academically and managed to get into the Raffles Girls Secondary
School and subsequently into Raffles Junior College. That is really amazing! I aspire to be like
her and will put in my best and study hard to achieve my dream of becoming a paediatrician!
It is such an eye-opener to learn about RGPS in the olden days. We are indeed very lucky now
as the present RGPS has good facilities, such as a nice playground, air-conditioned rooms, IT
Lab, etc., which all the students can benefit and enjoy.

Done by: Rachel Seow
Class: 4D

RGPS Story

Auntie Chia Soo Lian was a student in RGPS from 1977 to 1982. The
food sold then were noodles and “kachang puteh”, which cost between
$0.10 to $0.20. Her favourite food was “kachang puteh”. After eating,
she and her classmates had to brush their teeth.
Gymnastics, basketball, choir and badminton were the few CCAs
offered at that time. They studied English, Chinese, Mathematics and
Science in school. Each class had a Chinese teacher and an English
teacher who will teach English and the rest of the subjects.
The PE attire is just an ordinary shirt and bloomers which represents
the house colour. Their school uniform is the same as now except that
the badge is pinned on the pinafore and not sewn. There were no DSA
at that time. She was at Queen Street campus for two years and at
Holland Grove campus for four years.

Fumi Kheng was one of the RGPS pupils. She came from RGPS Holland Grove Campus. Her CCA was
choir but she changed to girlsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; brigade, subsequently. During her school days, she likes playing five
stones and zero point especially during recess. She enjoyed eating noodles. She said the noodles last
time were even more delicious than what we have now. Her favourite subjects are Science and Math.
Just like me.
The library in the olden days had no air conditioner. See how fortunate we are! In the classroom, they
did not have plastic chairs like we do! Instead, they had wooden chairs. Sometimes, if you are unlucky
you get a chair with bugs and you end up being bitten by them.
Their eco pond was not as beatiful as now but they really enjoyed catching small fishes and adorable
tadpoles. They even had a bridge name the bridge of love.
During games carnival, they had more games than us. Thiers was called Sports Day. They had gunny
sack races and the teachers played games. Fumi was very reluctant to graduate from RGPS, as she
really loved being an RGPS girl. She hopes she could visit RGPS once in a blue moon. I wish RGPS
will be a better place year by year.

(P6 Class Photo)
Aunty Wann Ching studied in Raffles Girlsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Primary School from 1982 to
1987. She enjoyed RGPS and had a lot of fond memories and friends.
During her time, she was in the Holland Grove Campus and there were an

average of 10 classes per level with about 40 students in each class. There
were many teachers and students as well. Each classroom was pretty big
and clean. For the lower primary, they had to sit on the floor mats during
lesson and to proceed to the tables and chairs to do their work. During
recess, she and her friends would go to the canteen for tea break before
playing zero-point, catching or monkey bar. Her favourite food in the
canteen was the prawn noodle and she mentioned that the canteen had a
Kachang Puteh stall with the Kachang Puteh man there too. Aunty Wann
Ching’s CCAs were softball and aerobics. She was the pitcher in the softball
team. Back then, they used to refer CCA as ECA which stands for Extra
Curriculum Activity. She took part in softball matches and she often
performed in dance aerobics on stage during school events like National Day.
There will be no school during Children Day. Therefore, they would normally
celebrate in school a day before by having performance, songs and dances.
Her best friend is Guo MeiWen in RGPS and they are still good friends now.
Her daughter, Chelsea, is Aunty Wann Ching’s daughter’s close friend now
too. Her favourite teacher in RGPS was Ms Gostelow who is her P5 teacher.
She is currently teaching in MGS primary. One of her most memorable days
in school was when her P6 form teacher allowed her classmates and her to
watch the live telecast of the Miss Universe during school hours as it was the
first time Miss Universe contest held in Singapore.

Done by: Woon Rae & Yow Rae Hsuen
Class: 4E

RGPS Story
Class:4E

Done By: Loke Mei Qi & Joyanna Tye
Class: 4F
RGPS Story
In 1976, an ex-RGPS student, Doris Ong (Mei Qi’s mother), joined RGPS.
We are going to tell you about our school at that time. RGPS was located in
Queen Street. The school was once occupied by the Japanese during
World War2. She shared with us that there were haunted in the school
compound that she and her friends would avoid going to. The students’
report books were navy blue and had to be handwritten by the teacher.
Doris’s classroom had a blackboard instead of a whiteboard, and teachers
would assign blackboard duties to everyone, to ensure that the blackboard
remains clean. At the side of every students’ classroom there was a box
filled with multi-coloured chalks and another box filled with chalk dust. The
desk, the teacher’s table and chairs were entirely made out of wood.

There were no projectors and CCAs at that period of time. There were
celebrations for certain events, such as Teachers’ Day, Childrens’ Day and
National Day. During recess, Doris and her friends would play Zero-point,
Hide-and-seek, Four-stones, Catching and Hand drawn hopscotch. After
they had finished playing Hopscotch, they would use their shoes to clean
the markings on the floor! The school did provide school buses for students
to get home easily. During PE, her class would run, play Passing the
beanbag and basketball. Doris participated in the School Carnival and
parents were also invited. There would be a Parents’ Relay where the
children would participate in the Relay with their parents! Doris participated
in the Relay by herself, came in third and won a bronze medal. There was
no model pupils’ award back then too. Doris thoroughly enjoyed the time
that she spent in RGPS.

Done By: Joy Teo Chia Wen
Class: 4G

The most memorable days in RGPS
The days my mother had in RGPS was memorable as she remembers
the many beautiful staircases in school. They had a spiral staircase
beside the principal’s office.
Mother loved the school canteen especially the school tidbit stall. The
myriad of goodies and snacks--- sweets, sour plums, chewing gum,
bubble gum and potato chips! Then there was the drinks and ice-cream
stall. My mother’s favourite drink, Green Spot, was only 15 cents per
bottle. She would be the first at the canteen once the school bell went
and be the first in the queue to buy her Blur- Blob ice-cream! Yum!
There were many stalls in the school canteen. There was a noodle stall,
a Malay stall selling Nasi Lemak and Mee Siam, a laksa stall, a porridge
stall and a Kacang Puteh stall! She loved the bookshop too! Toys and
cute stuff were on sale. She loved playing “yeh yeh” ( also named zero
point, a long skipping ‘rope’ made out of rubber bands ), chapteh
(Chinese called jianzi) and five stones! Recess back then was only 20
minutes. She said she would often “gobble”her food and run off to the
field to play.
The field was huge! She loved playing lao ying zhuo xiao ji ( Eagles and
chicks) with her friends. But the most fun thing my mother did was
swing on the hanging roots from this huge tree that was near the
school canteen! She was light and small so it was fun! She felt like Jane
in Tarzan!

The RGPS Story
An interview with an ex-pupil of RGPS Queen Street Campus:
Interviewer: Did you like the school?
Ex-pupil: Yes, with fond memories.
Interviewer: Did the school have CIP fairs?
Ex-pupil: Not in the seventies. I remember the Science Days we had at school.
Interviewer: Which subjects did you learn?
Ex-pupil: I learned English, Math, Science, Chinese, “Sheng Huo Jiao Yu” (Equivalent of CME),
P.E, Art and Music.
Interviewer: Were the teachers strict?
Ex-pupil: YES! I remember our discipline mistress, Mrs Rainey. She was so loud that she
didn’t even need a microphone during assemblies. One can even drop a pin and hear it when
Mrs Rainey is in session. Every girl sits up straight as rods when she speaks. Mrs Rainey can
even stare a girl to tears!
Interviewer: What was most memorable in your primary school days?
Ex-pupil: I remember the many beautiful staircases in school. We had a spiral staircase
where the principal’s office was! I love the school canteen especially the school tidbit stall. The
myriad of goodies and snacks --- sweets, sour plums, chewing gum, bubble gum, potato chips!
Then there was the drinks and ice-cream stall. My favourite drink, Green Spot, was only 15
cents per bottle. I would be the first at the canteen once the school bell went and be first in the
queue to buy my Blur-Blob ice-cream! Yum! There were many stalls in the school canteen.
There was a noodle stall, a Malay stall selling nasi lemak and mee siam, a laksa stall, a porridge
stall and a kacang puteh stall! I love the bookshop too! Toys and cute stuff were on sale. I loved
playing “yeh yeh” (also named zero-point, a long skipping ‘rope’ made out of rubber bands),
chapteh (Chinese called jian zi) and five stones! Recess back then was only 20 minutes. So I
would often gobble down my food and run off to the field to play. The field was huge! I loved

playing Lao ying zuo xiao ji (Eagles and chicks) with my friends. But the most fun thing I ever did
was swing on the hanging roots from this huge tree that was near the school canteen! I was
light and small so it was so fun! I felt like Jane from Tarzan!

Interviewer: Did you enjoy P.E lessons?
Ex-pupil: Yes, I did. I learned how to play volleyball well in Primary 3.
Interviewer: Was discipline strict in school?
Ex-pupil: Yes, I recall no one dared to forget their P.E. shorts. I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know if this was the
norm but I remember once a classmate forgot her shorts. She was made to wear her panties for
P.E! Then, we had no male teachers in school. She never ever forgot her shorts during P.E. days
ever after that!
Interviewer: What was your CCA?
Ex-pupil: Back in the seventies, it was called Extra Curricular Activities or ECA. I was a band
member in Primary 2. I played an instrument called the Fife, a small, high-pitched, transverse
flute that is similar to the piccolo, but louder and shriller due to its narrower bore. The fife
originated in medieval Europe. In Primary 3, I joined the badminton school team. I was also
active in athletics.
Interviewer: Was the P.E t-shirts soft?
Ex-pupil: Yes, if I remember it well. I remember, in particular, the badminton school t-shirt.
It was very comfortable. We even got to keep the t-shirt for free as we were school
representatives.
Interviewer: What is your favourite teacherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s name?
Ex-pupil: Mrs Emmeline Tan. She taught me for three years. She is my favourite lower
primary teacher. My favourite upper primary teacher is Miss Agnes Yeo. She taught me in
Primary 5 & 6.
Interviewer: Who was your best friend?
Ex-pupil: Tai Wai Leng. We were good friends for six years as we took the school bus
together.

Done by: Keara Yeo
Class: 4G

THE RGPS STORY

BY ASHLEY JADE KHOO 4G (3)

My name is Ashley Jade khoo. I have interviewed Mrs Serena khoo, my
mother. My mother is also a former student of Raffles Girls Primary
School. The campus she studied in was at Holland Grove. The school
building was smaller than what it is today. There are only 4 classes in
each year – A, B, C and D.
During recess, my mother would play a game with her friends called
“yay yay”a game of a hundred rubber bands tied together like a
skipping rope. Her canteen was in the assembly hall. Back then a bowl
of noodles was only 20 cents! Her parents paid the school some money
so that once a week they will receive a carton of milk. There were only
mainstream classes then and the subjects that my mother studied
were: English, mathematics, Chinese, science and health and moral
education. There were no computers back then so everything was
handwritten.
During sports day, everyone would be grouped into different houses –
red, blue, green and yellow. My mother was in the “yellow house”. The
pupils would play games such as throw the bean bag, three legged race,
bounce the ball, and spoon race!
After the interview, I feel that I am lucky that I am in a school that has a
bigger campus and a computer lab!

THE RGPS STORY – A TIME TO REMEMBER
Done By: Raniya Shabnam Maricar 4G(27)
Greetings!! I took this opportunity to interview my aunt Mumtaj
Maricar who studied in the Holland Road Campus from 1984 to
1989.
Below are the questions that I had asked her to which she replied
with great enthusiasm.
Q1: Which campus were you from?
A: Holland Road Campus
Q2: How was the school like before?
A: There were hexagonal shaped blocks, a Japanese pond with
a red bridge and it was called “The Bridge of Love.” The school
shared a field with the school Henry Park Boys. Also there was
this metal cage and older girls used to scare younger girls by
saying that it was a haunted cage used by crocodiles and they
were still around hiding. (Hahaha!!!!!)
Q3. Who was your favourite teacher?
A: Miss Lee her English Teacher.

Q4: What were her favourite corners in the school?
A: The pond, library and the Casuarina trees. The leaves on the
trees are a little amazing! They could stick back together after
being torn apart!

Q5: How was the food in the canteen like?
A: Good spread. She could buy a plate of Mee Rebus for
10cents, 5cents for a sliced fish cake with sambal and her
favourite was the 30cents Yeoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s chocolate milk that came in a
glass bottle. There were small wooden benches in the canteen
that she enjoyed sitting on.
Q6: How was Sports Day like?
A: Special. It was because there was a Milo Van that used to be
parked outside the field, supplying free yummy milo to all the
thirsty children who wanted to drink.
Q7: How was the library back then?
A: There were fans and the collection of books was fantastic.
Q8: Where there laboratories before?
A: Only a Science laboratory.

Q9: Who was the Principal then?
A: Miss Nanda Bandara
Throughout the interview she shared many wonderful memories
that she has of her younger days in RGPS. I saw the child in her
when she was talking about her childhood and am sure, that one
day I will also share wonderful memories of my childhood in
RGPS with my children.

Done by: Melissa Ho Jia Xin
Class:4G

THE RGPS STORY
The ex-RGPS girl that I interviewed was Mdm Delphine Tay. Mdm Tay
graduated in 1980 and her favourite subject was Chinese. She has
never been a prefect but was the class monitress in Primary 3. Back
then, the best classes were all the ‘A’ classes and Mdm Tay has always
been in the best class.

Besides her academic success, Mdm Tay also shared with me how the
old school was like. The old school building had only two levels and
the toilets were dirty and all are squat toilets. There wasn’t any
playground or computer lab. All the classrooms are equipped with
only chalkboard and chalks for writing. There were no lockers for the
students to keep their things so all of them have to bring their books
home everyday. The canteen sold nasi lemak, noodles a few other
choice of food. The only sports they did during PE lessons were just
running and there wasn’t any ISH for them to do sports indoor.

As compared to the 1980s, we are so much more fortunate. We have
a school with so many facilities and equipped with the necessary tools
for our learning experience.

THE RGPS STORY- A Time to Remember
Social Studies-Oral History Mini-project
Interviewer: Tan Zi Yan Interviewee: Mrs. Ho
My friend’s mother, Mrs. Ho, was a pupil of the RGPS Queen Street Campus. At that time, the
school was using blackboards and chalk instead of whiteboards and markers. Mrs. Ho’s teacher
wrote everything on the blackboard and they had a board monitress who erases the board
whenever the teacher has finished writing on it. Because of this, the teachers had to go for
regular check-ups as the kind of chalk they used was hazarders. Mrs. Ho and her classmates
could draw on the blackboard whenever they wanted as long as the erased it after. Also,
whenever their shoes were black with dirt and they did not have time to wash it, they would
use the chalk to draw on their shoes!
The Kempeitai, Japanese military soldiers, used the school as a headquarters. The classrooms
were prison cells! There were blood stains in the principal’s office. That started a rumour that
the school was haunted and Mrs. Ho, her friends and other students loved to run around
looking for ghosts.
Mrs. Ho used to drink milk at school. The student would take the milk from the principal’s office
and they also had health check-ups there. The milk packet that they drank from was very big
and was triangular in shape. When they had the health check-up, they would walk around the
school with a bare body! But it was okay as they were all girls. That was how they knew about
the blood stains in the principal’s office.
The ceilings of the school were much higher and they also had a grand staircase that was so
long that it would extend from the first to the sixth level. It was a very long walk.
They also learnt 4 subjects like us now, but they did not use the same syllables as us. Their
streaming only started when they were P4, and they remained in that class until they were in
P6. There was no GEP at that time. And in those times, they did not have any correction tape,
so, they had an ink eraser. Mrs. Ho had a friend that always made a lot of mistakes when she
does her work. As a result, there were a lot of holes in her worksheet as she used the ink eraser
too many times! The teacher would always complain to her because of that.
All the classes in the school would perform more frequently than do work. They had a lot of
show and tells. They did not prepare for their show and tell at home, instead, they did it on the

spot. There were some Caucasian pupils in Mrs. Ho’s class and she felt very lucky to have a
foreign pupil in her class. They also did not have much homework.
They used to have a pin-on badge and some students will forget to take their badges off when
they get home. As a result, when the badges are washed together with their clothes, the
colours on their badge would come off. Some of the students also complained that the safety
pin on the badge would poke them and would cause them to feel very uncomfortable.
The teachers then decided to that time. They had a lesson called art and craft. During that
lesson, they would sew soft toys, pattern a plastic thing and do cross stitching. They used to do
projects and had CCAs. They also organized some exhibits too. They had a field, basketball court
and canopy. In the canopy, there were seats for the parents during sports day and their
trophies. They would win medals during sports day.
There were about 30 pupils in each class and when they went to P5 and P6, the number of
students increased to 44. RGPS wasn’t ranked at that time. They had presents during children’s
day and they gave presents to their teachers during teachers’ day.
Prefects were only in P5 and P6. They had metallic badges. The students would play interclass
games and they could get medals if they won. Some of the games that they played were zero
point, paper ball and skipping rope etc. they would write magazines on RGPS.
During the lesson, if anyone did something bad, their teacher would hit them with a ruler! This
made Mrs. Ho scared of her teacher and she didn’t dare to do anything bad.
Mrs. Ho loved RGPS and she even went to RGSS with her good friend and they always said that
they were pure rafflesians.

A friend of my motherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s friend, Aunty Evelyn, was a student in the Queen
Street and Holland Grove campuses from 1977 to 1982. She studied in the
Queen Street campus when she was in P1&2; and the Holland Grove campuses
when she was in P3-6.
The Queen Street campus had no lift, but had grand stair cases which looked
like they were brought in from the Titanic! There was School 1 & School 2.
Every year the pupils would alternate from School 1 to School 2 and vice versa.
During WWII, the Japanese used the campus as their Kempeitai Headquarters.
As such, when the war ended and students went back to school, most girls in
RGPS thought that the campus was haunted!
In both campuses, there was streaming. Aunty Evelyn was mainly in either class
A/B. There were about 40 pupils in her class every year. Aunty Evelynâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s
favourite teacher was her Primary 2 form teacher, Ms Loh. She remembers Ms

Loh as a very encouraging teacher who always helped her students. Her
favourite subject was Math as no memorisation is needed.
During recess, Aunty Evelyn and her friends would play dog and bone, zero
point and five stones at the field. She recalled the sports carnival was held
annually at the field. It was an interclass competition and was super fun. The
games included: Save the water, egg & spoon etc.
Aunty Evelynâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most memorable experience was when she and her friends
fought with the Henry Park boys over the field! According to her, they
separated the field in to two parts. No one from the other school was
supposed to cross the border!!!
When she was in school, her CCA was badminton. She was in the school team
and played in tournaments. She won some but not all tournaments.
Aunty Evelynâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s daughter is currently studying in RGPS. When asked to compare
the difference in the education system now and then, she feels that the
education system now is more stressful compared to last time. During her time,
she felt it was not competitive and they had lots of fun. The streaming was not
so obvious and there was no GEP. CCA in her times was not compulsory as
well. She has enjoyed her primary school years in RGPS and will always cherish
the fond memories.

Done by: Charisse Kwong & Celeste Chai
Class: 4P
The RGPS Story
For our project, we interviewed Charisseâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sister, Callie, to find out about the
difference between her life in RGPS and ours.
Callie was once an RGPS girl and does not regret being one. Her Primary school
life was a colourful and memorable one.
Her favourite time of the day was recess. During recess, she would play games
like blow wind blow and catching in the basketball court along with her pals, Gloria,
Michelle, Ping Ghee, Winnie, Chelsea and Roanna. Amongst them were her bosom
buddies, Ping Ghee and Roanna. As a group, she and her friends would queue up to
buy their favourite food, mushroom soup topped with crispy breadcrumbs and mashed
potato.
She would visit the bookshop once in a while with her friends. For some reason,
she would always be tempted to buy the star paper and inflatable balls that they sold.
She always managed to control herself, knowing that she had an empty wallet.
Amongst all of her enjoyable lessons, she enjoyed the music lesson the most. As
a class, they would sing and listen to songs. They also got to play the recorder and that
was the main reason why she enjoyed Music lesson so much.
Although she was also in the GEP Programme, her workload was not as heavy
as the GEP pupils nowadays. Being a hardworking student, she had no problem at all
doing the homework assigned by her teachers.

Callie’s favourite school event was Children’s day because of the many presents
that she received. On Children’s day, there was a concert where the teachers and
students would perform. After that, the teachers would give out the presents and let the
pupils play games.
Her CCA in P4 was chess club, in P5 fitness club and in P6 string ensemble. Her
favourite CCA was fitness club because they did many different kinds of activities. She
joined chess club because she was interested in chess, fitness club because she liked
to exercise and string ensemble because she could practice violin during her CCA.
She won her first group trophy in RGPS. She had to work with her team
members to present the effects of carbon emissions and suggest measures to mitigate
the situation. Being the second best group who presented, they won the silver trophy.

Mdm. Loe, her math teacher, was her favourite teacher. Mdm. Loe motivated her
pupils and was strict with them as she wanted them to do well academically.
Callie liked her teachers as they were interesting and cared for them. She hopes
that they will continue to share their knowledge with their pupils.
Callie is very proud to have once been an RGPS girl because the teachers have
taught her many good values that are useful in her life.

Photo Credit: RGPS (2012)
My friend’s mother, Aunty Geok Keng, was a pupil of the RGPS
Holland Grove campus from 1979-1984.
Her favourite corner was under the stairs where she always played “4
stones” with her friends during recess. Aunty Geok Keng’s favourite recess
food was fish ball noodles which were sold at 30 cents per bowl.
Her favourite teacher was Mrs Irene Bong who taught music and her
favourite subject was Maths and Chinese.
Aunty Geok Keng’s memorable event was when she received a book
prize for being top on standard for Chinese in Primary 1. She also
remembered the time when she wrote and performed in a play when she
was in Primary 5.

Aunty Geok Keng still loves RGPS very much.

RGPS Story
Done by: Evangeline Chen, Lim Zhi Xuan and Jenna
Class: 4Q

Ms. Jane Tan’s RGPS Model Pupil Award, 1992

Ms. Jane Tan, a friend of Evangeline’s auntie, was a pupil of RGPS, Holland
Grove Campus from 1987 to 1992. By nature, Auntie Jane was not a sporty person so
she had fond memories of the sports day she represented her class in a telematch held
at the school’s little field back at Mt Sinai and her class victoriously clinched the second
prize. Looking back, she thought the game of skipping to the end of the line to pick up a
rubber ring and running back to her teammates with the ring on her head simply looked
comical!
Auntie Jane also had great fun in her role as Jack when her class performed the
“Jack and the Beanstalk” on stage during assembly.

She remembered wearing a

jumper and walking in circles with a classmate who was on all fours, supposedly acting
as her “cow”. Aside from this performance, Auntie Jane also recalled affectionately the
day she received the school’s Model Pupil Award in 1992.
Her favourite teacher was her P3 English teacher, Ms. Penny Choo.

In her

memory, Ms. Choo was a slim-looking and beautiful lady who was always kind,
pleasant, well-dressed and immaculately neat. She also remembered her P5 English
teacher, Ms. Anne Tay whom she thought looked lean and mean but conversely, Ms
Tay was actually a very responsible teacher who truly cared for her pupils.
All in all, Auntie Jane was thankful to all her teachers and had enjoyed studying at
RGPS.

Which part of the RGPS campus did you like best? Why?
Everything, but I liked Bras Basah Campus better as it was nearer to my home

5.

What was the fondest memory you have of RGPS?
a)
Training together with my classmates for youth's festival
b)
Wonderful teachers there

6.

Please state one CCA that was popular then.
Symphonic Band

7.

Do you have a favorite teacher that you can still remember by name? If yes, what's
his/her name?
There were many, but my favourite teacher is Mrs Gay

8.

What did you and your friends played during recess?
Catching

Interview of an ex-RGPS girl - Ms Ong Guat Choon

My Fatherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s colleague, Ms Ong Guat Choon was an ex-student of RGPS. She is
currently in her forties. She studied at both the Bras Basah campus as well as the
Holland Grove campus. She liked everything about the two campuses but she prefers the
Bras Basah campus as it was nearer to her home.
Ms Ong likes RGPS for the wonderful teachers that have taught her. In fact, she likes them so
much that she can even remember the names of some of the teachers that taught her more than
thirty years ago! One of her favorite teachers is Mrs Gay.
In those days, symphonic band was the most popular CCA. CCA was known as ECA then. Mrs
Ong was with the band. Her fondest memory of RGPS was the days where she trained hard with
her friends for the Youth Festival performance.
During recess, Ms Ong would play catching with her friends as there were not much things to do
then, unlike our new campus now at Hillcrest that has a big area for running about. (179 words)

The RGPS Story’ interviewed by Beth Lau(P4Q)
My auntie, Wendy Chuah Siying, studied in RGPS from 1992-1994. She was a transferred
student selected for GEP (Gifted Education Programme). RGPS was situated at Holland Grove Road
when she was there.
In her primary school days, my auntie enjoyed sports a lot and thus looked forward to PE lessons
in school. She is very athletic and liked all ball games. My auntie’s most memorable moment was in
primary 5 when she represented her class in the Annual Sports meet. She participated in track-and-field
events as she was as fast as lightning in running. She won 3 gold medals in the 100-metre sprint, 4x100metre and the 80x50-metre, and also won a bronze medal for the 200-metre sprint. My auntie had good
sportsmanship and did not groan at the sight of not being the champion for one of the events. Still, she
was known as the “fastest runner” by her class-mates.

“fastest runner” with her medals!
typical school assembly
My auntie could however balance schoolwork and her love of sports. Her favourite teacher is Ms.
Bala, who taught her English in Primary 5 and 6. According to her, Ms. Bala was a kind and caring
teacher. At the same time, she made lessons fun and interesting, thus encouraging students to learn in a
fun way. On the other hand, there were strict teachers. My auntie distinctly remembers her primary 4
Chinese teacher who was extremely fierce. She scolded the pupils when they only did a minor thing
wrong. This made Chinese lessons very dreadful for my auntie and the rest of the pupils in class.
Fortunately, the Chinese teacher only taught them for 1 year! My auntie’s favourite subject was
Mathematics, as she claims it was always about solving puzzles and that was very fun too!
My auntie had 4 bosom buddies, Elma, Wanping, Fiona and Dianne. They shared the same cocurricular activity and interest - Netball. However, netball is a tiring sport which causes muscle aches
each time after practice. But it is a team sport which builds camaraderie (team spirit) and co-operation.
rd
Sadly, my auntie’s class was on the 3 floor, so on the days after netball practice with their muscles
aching, my auntie’s good friends would helped each other up the stairs by pushing each other’s buttocks.
They motivated each other to move on although they are so exhausted and sometimes feel that can no
longer take another step. Sometimes after school, they also go to the near-by 7-eleven store to buy “Mr.
Softie”, which is a type of soft ice cream. That is something that my auntie and her buddies look forward
to. Unfortunately, 7-eleven has stopped selling “Mr. Softie” now.
During recess or lunch, my auntie would buy snacks or noodles from the school canteen. The
simple but delectable food can be priced at 50 cents for a bowl or cheaper, which is quite rare now. After
eating, my auntie liked hanging out at the basketball court, as she also liked playing basketball a great
deal too. Practically, she devoted a lot of her school time playing sports. However, people’s passions
change as they grow up. Instead of becoming a basketball player, she is now a doctor.

My auntie was both a good sportsman and a diligent student. As we know, when we work hard,
there will always be a good reward at the end to it. My auntie was able to balance her fitness and school
work; leading to an outstanding student and now an excellent doctor. She is a role model that I follow.

The RGPS Story
Done By: Chong Shu Ting (4Q)
Carina Lim (4Q)
Mrs Tan Yung Yung was a student at the Queen Street and Holland Grove Campus (1976-1981). She
was in the Queen Street campus when she was Primary 1 and 2 and later moved to the Holland Grove
campus when she was Primary 3.

The RGPS campus then was divided into two sessions,
and School 2. Every term, the two schools will switch the
hours. Example if School 1 was morning class and School 2
afternoon class in term 1, School 1 would be afternoon class
School 2 would be morning class in term 2.

The Holland Grove Campus was shaped like a
honeycomb and the classrooms were shaped like a hexagon.
architect who designed the building won an award for
RGPS.

The principal then was Madam Lim Soo Noi, who
1985. Her form teacher was Mrs Emilie Tan. Mrs Emilie
but kind to students who were well behaved. Mrs Tan was
behaved, and was a prefect then. During that time, the
of a prefect was a badge, unlike the ties prefects wear nowadays.

School 1
school
was
and

The
designing

retired in
was strict
very well
symbol

Mrs Tanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s favourite canteen food was Laksa, which was 20 cents a bowl, and fish cake. The food in
the canteen was very cheap compared to the food prices nowadays.

Mrs Tanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s CCA was choir, which she likes very
much. When she heard that she had been chosen to
join, she was ecstatic.

She especially liked going to the AVA room to
watch movies screened on the visualizer The AVA
room then did not have air-cons, unlike the AVA
room nowadays.

The School library also did not have air-conditioners and was very small then, unlike the big,
spacious and air-conditioned library today. Todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s library even has a small room meant for computers.

Mrs Tan loves RGPS and misses her old school very much but she still remembers her enjoyable
time she had in RGPS.

My neighbour, Aunty Christine Tan was a former girl of RGPS Queen Street Campus from 1971
to 1976. She was proud to be a RGPS pupil as it was one of the premier schools that parents
wanted their girls to be there. It was not easy to get in as she recalled how her parents had to
endure the long queue and brought along their home cooked meal to eat while ensuring a place
during registration for her.

RGPS has brought fond memories, with nostalgia to Aunty Christine. She remembered after
recess, her classmates and she would queue up in pairs two by two, squat down by the small
drain in the front porch to brush teeth. One hand would hold a mug of water and the other to
hold toothbrush or toothpaste. On every six months, the dentist came down to the school to
check their teeth condition. She was scared of dentist poking her teeth one by one to check as it
was painful. Moreover, she dreaded teeth scaling and hated that awful drilling sound.
Not forgetting the faithful milk lady who would ring a bell loudly outside the classrooms to remind
the girls to drink the packets of fresh milk.

Done by: Chloe Lee
Class: 4Q

The RGPS story

My mother studied in the Queen Street campus when she was young. Formally a site
occupied by Japanese officers during World War 2, the campus was rumored to be
haunted by ghosts due to the deaths associated with the cruelty of war, occasionally
scared the wits out of the girls and teachers alike when wind howled and was regularly
mistaken for ghosts. Once everyone lost control of themselves and ran helter-skelter
when a very strong wind came. The grand historic campus was adorned by magnificent
Frangipani trees with white flowers that sometimes would cover the floor as if it was a
beautiful carpet of white. When walking on it you would feel like a princess as you came
through the big metal gate. The gate was handled by the father of a current canteen
vendor in the school, Uncle William. The Queen Street campus has a gorgeous grand
staircase which girls would climb up and down everyday to get to their classrooms. They
even use the grand stairs as a slide. Large stone structural pillars lined within the
building, made catching and hide and seek very popular past times then. A teacher who
still stays in my motherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s memory is Mrs. Thomas. Until today she still teaches girls in
RGPS. She was once my relief teacher when I was in Primary 2. I remembered her
because she told my class an interesting story about how to cure bee stings with
ammonia. One of the exciting moments for my mother was being a part of the 1st batch
of students relocated to the campus at Holland Grove Road and the saddest moment
came many years after when the grand old dame at Queen Street was to be torn down.
That is the story, the RGPS story.

The RGPS Story: A Time to Remember
Mdm Tina Sim , our classmate Kong Pek Yan’s mother, studied in Raffles Girls’
Primary School at Queen Street from 1972 to 1978. She can still remember many things
about the school. Most of all, she recalls the beautiful grand staircase. It was a large
staircase, made of marble.

Photo Credit: RGPS (2012)

The grand staircase seemingly gave the school an air of grace. The students
climbed the grand staircase every day in order to reach their classrooms. Mdm Tina Sim
is very proud of her school and hopes that students will get know more about the
schoolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s history.

Kristen Wong and Berenice Chao
Primary 4R 2012
The RGPS Story: Wong Li Ting, Ashley
Executive Prefect. Head Committee member. Head Ambassador.
That is what Ashley Wong Li-Ting was. Now, let us hear her RGPS story.
Ashley started studying in RGPS, Hillcrest Campus since 2006, in
class 1A, and in the following years, she studied in class 2A and 3E. She was
not serious in her work, until she was admitted into the Gifted Education
Programme in 2009. Actually, she only started studying really hard in
Primary 5.
During her time in RGPS, she took up dance and Taekwondo, some
activities that she still enjoys even after graduating in 2011.
She recalls her favourite place in the school was the 4th level, as it
overlooks the school’s herb garden. She also loved Physical Education
lessons, as she could explore her area of interest. However, she had a least
favourite period: Civics and Moral Education Lessons, as there were
sometimes conducted in Chinese, not really her strong subject.
Ashley’s favourite teacher was Zhong Lao Shi (钟老师), a teacher
fondly liked and admired by students in the Gifted Education Programme. She also enjoyed her
leadership role as Head Ambassador, because there was “a lot of organisation to do”.
In Primary 5 on the First of April, her class played a prank on the teachers by handing in
blank sheets of paper as “homework”. The teacher totally freaked out when she saw the blank
“worksheets”. Other fond memories at RGPS were on 1st October, when the entire school was
celebrating Children’s Day.
Right now, Ashley Wong is currently studying in Raffles Girl’s School (Secondary), and
she says that there is a huge difference between the morals, values and cultures RGS and RGPS.
However, she finds that social skills, what she has learnt in RGPS, has helped her through her
half-year in RGS, and still has advice for the current RGPS girls: “Love your teachers, and get to
know your batch-mates.”

Ashley is a model student for all of us.
She enjoyed RGPS very much and her motto is
“Work hard, Play hard”. She thinks that we

should all get along well with each other, cooperate with each other and make the fullest of
your time in RGPS.

THE RGPS STORY-A Time to Remember
Social Studies-Oral History Mini-project
Done By: Tay Wan Ni, Nicole and Kong Pek Yan
Class: 4R
Tina Sim, whom we fondly call â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Auntie Tinaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, was once a pupil in RGPS. She joined RGPS in
1972, at the age of 7, and graduated from the school in 1978. Attending the Queen Street
campus, which was near her home at Beach Road, she recalls many fond memories which are
kept close to her heart, and which she still treasures till today.
One of the memories which is particularly significant is when Auntie Tina brought baby
ducklings to school for her Science lesson. At that time, she was already in the upper primary
standard. The little baby ducklings were extremely cute and instead of paying attention in class,
she was playing with the ducklings. The result was that along with three to four other pupils who
were also playing with the ducklings, she was sent out to stand outside the class as punishment of
the class. However, she still felt that it was worth it as she got to play with the little ducklings
outside the classroom, but advises us not to do that now!
Another moment that she recalls vividly was when her teacher threw her book out of the
window. In those days, there was no correction tape and she had to use ink erasers to erase away
the mistakes that she made while using a pen. The only problem with the ink erasers was that
they made holes in the paper if you rubbed too hard or long on the same spot for a long time.
Sadly, the ink erasers left so many holes in her book that the teacher got angry and flung her
book out of the window. Auntie Tina then had to rush out of the classroom to pick the book up.
Upon graduating from the school, Auntie Tina was pleased that most of her friends were going to
RGS with her. The sad part was that it was very hard to say goodbye to the Queen Street campus
and it was even sadder when she helped RGPS to move to Holland Grove. Contrary to the earlier
paragraph, Auntie Tina feels that the year which she liked best was P6. This is because she was
older and could understand more things as compared to P1 to P5 and really enjoyed deepening
the friendships with her classmates.
A piece of advice from her was to take many photographs of the school because when she was
preparing for her visit to some of our classes, she realized that she had no photographs of the
architecture of the school, and photographs of her in the school. Therefore, she advises us to take
many photographs of the school as RGPS is also moving and if we do not do so, we will have no
visual records of the school.
Auntie Tina had a lot of fun during the time she studied in RGPS and wishes that we will have as
fun a time as her or an even more wonderful time than her.

Our teacher, Mrs Ang, was a pupil of RGPS Holland Grove Campus from 1989 to
1991. She started her primary school education in Henry Park Primary School
(HPPS). In 1989, she was selected to join Gifted Education Program (GEP).
However, HPPS did not have GEP class at that time. Out of the three schools
offering GEP, Rosyth, RGPS and ACS, she chose RGPS because it was the
nearest GEP school to her house. RGPS Holland Grove Campus was only one
field away from HPPS. Mrs Ang belonged to the seventh batch primary school
GEP intake. There were only two GEP classes per level in RGPS at the time.
Mrs Ang was in class 4N1, 5I and 6I. She graduated from RGPS in 1991. Her P5
classmates were crazy over basketball and played everyday before school, during
recess and after school. Before school, the earlier pupils to come to school formed one
team while the later pupils formed another team. Although Mrs Ang liked basketball a
lot, she chose Girlâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Brigade as her CCA.

After PSLE, Mrs Ang and her classmates performed â&#x20AC;&#x153;Phantom of the Operaâ&#x20AC;? for their
teachers as a farewell gift.

RGPS Story
Done by: Emma Knapp
Class: 4R

The RGPS Story
Interviewer: Emma Knapp
Interviewee: Mrs. Grace Ang
About Mrs. Ang
Mrs. Grace Ang was a student at RGPS Holland Grove in 1991. She was in the 7th
batch of students to transfer from another school to attend the GEP. She started
primary school at Henry Park because her parents wanted her to go to the same
school as her brothers. Then she got into the GEP. At that time, Henry Park was
not a GEP school. Hence, the logical choice was RGPS because it was right next
door. This was a happy coincidence for Mrs. Ang. She was glad to become an RGPS
girl.
Her Most Memorable Experience
Her most memorable experience took place when she was in P6.

She had just

finished her PSLE and had a lot of free time. While the other class was goofing off
and enjoying themselves, her class decided to put on a play as a thank-you present
for the teachers. The play that they chose was called The Phantom of the Opera,
based on the book by Gaston Leroux. Mrs. Ang did not have a role in the play. She
was a stagehand. Even though she was “invisible” and her classmates were not
highly trained actors, they all felt like stars when they came onstage to take their
bows. The audience of teachers loved the play and showed their wild appreciation.
My Thoughts on This
I can imagine that Mrs. Ang’s experience was quite different from mine. There
were fewer people in the programme then and the Internet was not around for
research. I cannot help but admire Mrs. Ang for her accomplishments. It must

have been harder for her. The fact that she and her classmates were willing to do
the extra work for the teachers they admired shows how much she must have
loved the programme.

RGPS Story
Done by: Shina Tan & Teo Gi Sing
Class: 4R

Interviewer: Tan Wei Yen Shina & Teo Gi Sing
Interviewee: Tan Sok Hwee (Shina’s Aunt)
My auntie, Tan Sok Hwee, attended RGPS in year 1978. When she was in
Primary 1, the school building was at Stamford road, then the school moved to Mount
Sinai when she was in Primary 2.
There used to be 4 classes per level (A, B, C, D). Auntie Sok Hwee was in Class
‘C’ when she was in Primary 1-3, and Class ‘B’ when from Primary 4-6. The school
started streaming them in Primary 3. Class ‘A’ was the best class, ‘B’ came next, and
after ‘B’ came ‘C’, and finally, ‘D’.
When she was in school, nothing really extraordinary happened, except for the
presence of an educationally subnormal girl who was obese and often wandered around
the school during lesson time, and always eating something. According to Auntie Sok
Hwee, some people were quite mean and avoided her like the plague or teased her.
However, Auntie Sok Hwee thought her cute and pitied her.
Auntie Sok Hwee loved RGPS when she was young, as she still does now.

Lau Wan Ying (12)

4R

RGPS Story
I am writing about my friend’s mother, Aunty Li Ling. She used to be a former
student of RGPS from 1975 to 1980. In the past, drinks like Bandung cost 10 cents,
noodles like kway teow cost 30 cents and fried rice costs 40 cents. Today, to buy a can
of drink, you will have to fork out a minimum of 50 cents, noodles and rice cost more
than a dollar. During her recess time, after Aunty Li Ling has finished eating, she would
play fun games like yeh yeh, pick up sticks and catching in the school field. They would
usually play these games as they enjoyed them very much.
Aunty Li Ling’s favourite lessons were art and music as she did not have to
memorize anything. She did not have a favourite teacher, but she remembered a
teacher whom she disliked. She was Aunty Li Ling’s Math teacher when she was in
RGPS who always nagged at them to study hard so that they could go to RGS.
At that time, RGPS was situated at Queenstreet. RGPS was like a mysterious
place to Aunty Li Ling as at that time as there were spiral staircases, gloomy corridors
and locked up rooms.
Aunty Li Ling’s favourite place was the garden because after it rains she would
be thrilled to see tiny frogs jumping up and down the corridor. Aunty Li Ling used to like
playing ball games, skipping hoops and having three- legged race with her friends in the
school field during sports day.
I feel that life in RGPS then was similar to now except that they played more
traditional games then while we play on our own mobile phone games. However, we still
interact with each other when we play games. Everything was also cheaper then.